Plugins and SC4 Crashing on Mac

[dubble898 0]

This issue may have been addressed before, but I couldn't find it.

 

So I downloaded SC4 from the App Store recently and it works fine.  Then I downloaded some things from ST/Exchange such as the NAM transportation add-ins and other buildings in the plugins and now SC4 is crashing.  I can load the entire region and enter a city but then when I start the play button then the game freezes.  I looked online and I heard that the amount of folders you have in plugins is the main limit and I heard that around 200 folders is the limit.  I took files out of folders and took most of the inner folders out but still keeping the main folders in the plugins, thus, having around 50 folders in total and my game still crashed.  I'm wondering what is happening?  Currently, I only have like around 10 ST/Exchange downloads and I really want to add more buildings but SC4 keeps on crashing if I do.

[Indiana Joe 1,751]

If you downloaded anything HD, like a HD terrain or water mod, that might be the cause. I don't believe HD content is supported on Macs.

[dubble898 0]

How do you know if a plugin is HD?

[Indiana Joe 1,751]

Most water mods and terrain mods will say in the title or description.  Any of Lowkee's or Gobias's terrain/water mods are HD.  Some lots use HD props; the easiest way to tell is by the prop packs they use.  Most prop packs containing HD props will state so.  Just avoid anything that has these packs as dependencies. 

[Tarkus 6,933]

You might be okay with the props.  HD terrain textures, however--defined as being of at least 512px by 512px--are definitely a no-go.  They won't work on Windows if the game is running with software graphics, either, so it's not just a Mac thing.

 

-Tarkus

[dubble898 0]

I didn't have any terrain mods though in my plugins folder

[Indiana Joe 1,751]

Did you install the right version of the NAM for Macs?

[dubble898 0]

I took a bunch of files out except NAM and the BSC essentials, and it works fine now.  It's just that I want more buildings from ST/Exchange but it will crash my SC4.  Thanks for your replies by the way!

[Tarkus 6,933]

I took a bunch of files out except NAM and the BSC essentials, and it works fine now.  It's just that I want more buildings from ST/Exchange but it will crash my SC4.  Thanks for your replies by the way!

 

It sounds like some of the buildings you were using may be affected with the exemplar encoding issue that affected the NAM prior to the Version 32.1 release.  The newer Aspyr versions (App Store and Steam), and the old disc version with the Universal Binary patch, will crash if they encounter an exemplar they don't like.  It's likely there's quite a few unreported exemplar encoding issues (can we call them EEIs?) floating around.  BSC Essentials is just a dependency pack, and unless you have actual buildings/lots installed that reference it, it's just taking up space in your plugins.

 

-Tarkus

[dubble898 0]

I don't get computer stuff too much :,(.  Thanks for the help guys!

 

I am having lots that use BSC essential packs as dependencies.  Also, before every launch of the game, I add like 1 or 2 plugins folders and am seeing if it crashes the games.  I think I've added around 20 folders with around 50 folders in total including subfolders, and the game has been fine.  Do you think it matters if I add files incrementally versus adding a lot of files at once?  Or do you think I have been lucky and haven't added anything that has something wrong with it or haven't encountered that folder limit?

 

By the way, just learned that you can't play SC4 on Mac without wifi on the plane today .  

[Compdude787 916]

By the way, just learned that you can't play SC4 on Mac without wifi on the plane today .  

For some reason, the "number of plugins" limit is lower when you're not connected to the internet.

[BuffaloMaine 4]

So I've been fighting with the Aspyr release for a couple of months now. With the release of NAM 32.1 (and a nifty data packer tool someone put on SC4Dev) I was limping along until today. All was fine until a bulldozed this one lot in order to move it (it was just a simple plugin - the spa St. John Customs House). Now, merely attempting to open my major city leads to a CTD. I am at the point of giving up and switching to the Steam version (or maybe even the PC version running through Wine?). From what is written above, however, I get the impression that the Steam version still has issues. FYI, I've got a nearly brand new 27" iMac loaded to the gills so there can't be an issue with RAM or anything like that. Anyone have any ideas? I was so psyched to get back into this game again after giving it up when Mavericks came out.

 

I should add that even after pulling out all of the plugins, it still crashes.

[Indiana Joe 1,751]

At the end of the day, the Mac ports are going to be buggy.  No one wants to put the time into developing and testing a perfect conversion---not enough money in it.

 

You'll have to talk to A Nonny Moose about running the game on Wine.  You won't get the plugin limits, but make sure you aren't just trading one problem for another.  I think, if the money and technical know-how isn't a problem for you, you'll probably have better success in the end with the Windows game and emulation.

[Tarkus 6,933]

The other factor to consider is that the same exemplar encoding issue that caused CTDs with NAM 32 and earlier on the Mac platform likely exists with other plugins.  It's an obscure thing that didn't become an issue until Apple killed Rosetta in OS X Lion, and as most other plugins only have a fraction of the NAM's userbase, it's going to be difficult to weed out just which files are afflicted.  It's possible the particular building involved in that CTD situation may be one of them. It's going to be even more difficult to fix plugins once they're diagnosed, as there are a lot of files out there that were created by people who haven't been active in the community for a long time.

 

-Tarkus

[Sabretooth78 808]

Your best bet is to run the game through Wine.  I do, and it runs beautifully, with the following exceptions:

 

• I still get occasional CTDs.  They don't typically occur before say 20 minutes from the last save; of course, saving early and often is never a bad idea anyway.  Also, I don't think such behavior is anything unusual even among most players running on Windows systems.  As Nonny would say, it's a legacy game.
• For some reason unbeknownst to me I can't load my entire plugins folder unless it's packed.  This is probably just something specific to my plugin suite; honestly it's not even an issue (why would you want to run non-packed?)  It does bother me that I can't isolate it, however.
• I can only run in software mode.  i.e., plugins which require hardware mode (HD textures, etc.) will cause a CTD at boot.

 

Aside from these minor drawbacks, I have never seen the game run more smoothly.  Even the improvement over the last couple versions of the Wine engine have been astounding.

 

 

 

 

I also submitted an expanded version of the tutorial post to the Omnibus but it's held up in approvals and I haven't heard anything from it in some time.

 

Alternately, paying for a 3rd party emulator such as Parallels or VMWare will get you comparable results.  The drawback here is that they're not free (although maybe you have one anyway) and you'll probably see a performance hit vs. Wine.  But if you're not inclined to the tweaking inherent to Wine (time is money) maybe that's the route you'd prefer.  Of course, if you have a copy of Windows 7 or 8 there's always the option of using Boot Camp.

 

I bought the Aspyr port and I regret it.  I've also not always heard favorable feedback regarding Steam.  Buying a digital download from Amazon, GOG.com, etc. seems to be the way to go to avoid having some kind of encumbrance (DRM, internet connection requirements, etc.).

[BuffaloMaine 4]

Your best bet is to run the game through Wine.  I do, and it runs beautifully, with the following exceptions:

 

• I still get occasional CTDs.  They don't typically occur before say 20 minutes from the last save; of course, saving early and often is never a bad idea anyway.  Also, I don't think such behavior is anything unusual even among most players running on Windows systems.  As Nonny would say, it's a legacy game.
• For some reason unbeknownst to me I can't load my entire plugins folder unless it's packed.  This is probably just something specific to my plugin suite; honestly it's not even an issue (why would you want to run non-packed?)  It does bother me that I can't isolate it, however.
• I can only run in software mode.  i.e., plugins which require hardware mode (HD textures, etc.) will cause a CTD at boot.

 

Aside from these minor drawbacks, I have never seen the game run more smoothly.  Even the improvement over the last couple versions of the Wine engine have been astounding.

 

 

 

 

I also submitted an expanded version of the tutorial post to the Omnibus but it's held up in approvals and I haven't heard anything from it in some time.

 

Alternately, paying for a 3rd party emulator such as Parallels or VMWare will get you comparable results.  The drawback here is that they're not free (although maybe you have one anyway) and you'll probably see a performance hit vs. Wine.  But if you're not inclined to the tweaking inherent to Wine (time is money) maybe that's the route you'd prefer.  Of course, if you have a copy of Windows 7 or 8 there's always the option of using Boot Camp.

 

I bought the Aspyr port and I regret it.  I've also not always heard favorable feedback regarding Steam.  Buying a digital download from Amazon, GOG.com, etc. seems to be the way to go to avoid having some kind of encumbrance (DRM, internet connection requirements, etc.).

 

Well, I can't ignore the advice of a fellow Western New Yorker. I will have to give your Wine instructions a shot. I'm just frustrated because I spent money on the Aspyr version and it is essentially unusable.

[kristoferpetit 3]

i have the sim city 4 deluxe two disc set, would that work with wine?

[BuffaloMaine 4]

i have the sim city 4 deluxe two disc set, would that work with wine?

 

That's the one I had trouble getting to work. It wouldn't recognize that the disc was inserted when it tried to run after installing it. So I just paid $8 to get the whole game in one file from GOG.com.

[Sabretooth78 808]

You definitely want to go digital copy.  Optical media is on its way out anyway.  If you're lucky you may even be able to recoup the cost selling your discs on eBay.

[Robert Meraglia 0]

Hello,

I am also experiencing  CTD (crash to desktop) when loading a map. It can be any map in any region. I currently have NAM "Network Addon Mod" and "z___NAM" installed. This has been working fine for the last 2 years (it looks like I installed it in 2018). I did try to download additional mods that needed per-requisites and were affecting textures. I am using a mac (version Sierra 10.12.6) and have read that might be a no-no.

This being said, I notice that if I remove the z___NAM folder from the plugin folder, the game will load and work. But once I put in the "z___NAM" folder back into the plugins the game will crash when loading a map.

This sucks because I was using the HSR (high-speed rail) system and Ninja stations throughout my region. When I remove the "z___NAM" file I no longer have these options. Currently these are the only two folders I have within my plugins.

 

I also want to add that I have seen there is a folder limit within the plugins folder of potentially 200? , however, after getting info on the Network Addon Mod folder I see:

661,733,287 bytes (662.4 MB on disk) for 388 items.

Am I calculating this correctly?

When I add the additional z___NAM folder I get the crash, the specs being:

39,891,155 bytes (40.2 MB on disk) for 151 items

 

Wondering if anyone else is getting this issue or have we identified the plugin that is crashing? I am almost positive it exists in the z___NAM folder, but like I said, since 2018 I was using this just fine, with all the folders left intact.

 

Wondering if anything changed or anyone else's thoughts. Thanks.

 

[CorinaMarie 29,858]

1 hour ago, Robert Meraglia said:

Hello,

Hiya.

Since your post here is a duplicate in a more recent thread, I'm going to lock this one so all replies can be in the same place.